Jono El Grande

His previous album ”Neo Dada” (2009) was a masterstroke; brimming with creative ideas, odd turns, weird combinations of sounds and instruments, complex time signatures and a healthy dose of pure musical joy, all mysteriously sugared with melodic hooks that would stick to your brain like any annoying pop tune. As far as musical form and content goes, this can be said to continue with ”Phantom Stimulance”, his fourth album. It´s put together to celebrate Jono´s 15 years as a composer and performer and 10 years as a band leader, but it´s not a mere compilation. Recorded in Athletic Studio, home to great analogue recordings by Supersilent, Motorpsycho, Scorch Trio and countless others, it´s a collection of brand new versions of stage favourites and previously unreleased songs as well as a brand new song. Jono lists movements like Rock in Opposition and the Canterbury Scene and artists and composers like Frank Zappa, Stravinsky, Magma, Henry Cow and Gentle Giant as inspirational sources but has established his own signature with his latest releases and stage shows. Instrumentations and arrangements have become more adventurous, he has picked up the electric guitar again and successfully added a rougher edge to the ensemble sound.